Chapter 318: Uhtred The Ragebaiter

The man stared at his arm, his smile still frozen on his face. Behind him, the nearly full tavern of ascenders watched with varying expressions of shock.

Some people’s shock was tinged with horror, others with intrigue, and some with pure schadenfreude. They knew who Uhtred had just embarrassed so publicly... they knew his reputation as an ascender. He was one of the top ascenders among adventurers of this city, so they wanted to see what his response would be.

But at the same time, they looked at Uhtred with hesitation — a young man clearly in his very early twenties, at most. For him to have such blatant confidence, the backing behind him had to be formidable.

That conclusion deepened even further after they all began to send probing inspections toward Uhtred and received no feedback.

Meanwhile, Uhtred, who had just dropped the man’s arm on the table, felt their inspections wash over him in waves and fail.

His ears picked up traces of their shocked whispers. Instead of attributing their failed inspections to a difference in cultivation like normal logic dictated, they spoke of an "expensive ward" and a "real deal".

They were clearly referring to him when speaking about the "real deal". But the "expensive ward" thing actually took Uhtred by surprise. However, once he considered it, it made sense:

This Scenario was set in a world far more developed than Earth in terms of integration into the multiverse. Even though this city looked medieval, Uhtred wasn’t fooled. These people were advanced in areas that weren’t immediately apparent, but the difference was clear.

It wasn’t so far-fetched that they’d developed wards to prevent System-given inspection skills.

The fact that they think I’m using a ward helps my goal even more. They’re doing exactly what I want them to do, Uhtred grinned internally.

On the outside, though, his focus was on the man still standing beside him. The man’s breathing had turned ragged and strained, his fingers twitching from suppressed anger.

Somehow, he managed to rein himself in. He chuckled, said nothing else, and turned around to leave...

But Uhtred simply couldn’t let that happen. The man had chosen to back off after hearing the whispers of the ascenders behind him, unwilling to anger whoever could be backing such a daring young man.

That was not the outcome Uhtred wanted. He’d done all this for the heat. He wasn’t about to let things settle now.

"Ah? You’re leaving? Don’t you want the drinks you came to beg for?"

Uhtred delivered the words in a flippant tone. Not overly high and mighty, but enough that it irked every single person who heard it.

He sounded like a young master rubbing his wealth in their faces.

The man stopped immediately, then turned around after a beat, his expression cheery.

"I didn’t want to intrude, since you declined the first time—"

"When did I decline?" Uhtred snorted. "I just removed your hand from my shoulder since I don’t know you. By the way, do you go around doing that to people you don’t know? It’s very uncouth. Weren’t you raised properly or something?"

Uhtred made sure not to overdo it. He aimed for the casual air of a spoiled scion who spilled the slightest thought that crossed his mind without inhibition.

He watched as the man remained silent, the fake smile on his face turning cold and shaky.

Just then, the barwoman stepped out from behind the counter, balancing several jugs of drinks in both hands — enough for the man’s table.

"Ah, your drink is here." Uhtred reached over and picked up his own drink, holding it up in a toast to the man.

The man, stunned, angry, and flabbergasted all at once, grabbed his own jug from the barwoman, then raised a toast in return.

Uhtred smiled, then turned to face his own drink, his ragebait complete.

Yep, he’s fucking livid. Now, unless he has no balls, he and his friends are gonna come after me once I leave here.

And that was exactly what Uhtred wanted. His initial plan had been to come in here, sit in a corner with a drink, and listen to drunk ascenders talking and spilling information. But once he opened those doors... the moment the sweaty, damp air of the tavern slammed into his face, it acted like a wake-up call.

That was such a shitty plan. There was no way he was staying inside this sweaty tavern for hours, listening for spilled information like a sissy. Not only was it nauseating, but he didn’t have the time for that nonsense. Every second wasted was time he could use to advance in the competition.

Of course, without knowing the full details of the competition, he wouldn’t know how best to advance. But there were better ways to get the information he wanted... One of which was the stunt he had just pulled.

It had been a quick improv right from start to finish. What better way to get information than from the mouth of a thoroughly beaten "top" ascender of this Adventurers’ Guild?

Uhtred had only needed to fish out this "top" ascender and make him follow him of his own accord. He could then lead him into a secluded area of the city and pry the information he wanted out of his mouth.

Uhtred drank for a bit longer, then instructed the barwoman to give as many people drinks as they wanted with the rest of the Essence Crystal’s worth. Then, with an exaggerated stagger, he pushed the doors of the bar open and stepped out into the now-dark night.

As expected, mere seconds after he stepped out, the man from before, along with his team of adventurer friends and even a few nosey onlookers, followed.

They trailed Uhtred as he staggered through the crowded area of the city toward a less populated zone — at which point he miraculously lost his stagger and walked straight.

This should have been a clear sign to the group of adventurers that something was off. But at this point, all that colored their minds was the image of Uhtred’s face when he’d be beaten to a pulp, and, more importantly, the amount of loot they would get off him — his backing be damned.

Eventually, Uhtred ended up in an area of the city where even the adventurers themselves didn’t venture.

He disappeared down an alley between two broken buildings, leaving the group hesitant. They realized now that something was well and truly wrong — they were adventurers, after all, and possessed a keen sense of danger when it mattered.

Still, though, they trusted in their numbers. Wasn’t it just one young fellow?

Pumping himself up, the man Uhtred had shamed led the charge. He entered the alley first, immediately followed by the rest of the group.

.

.

Several minutes later...

Uhtred conjured a heavy floating orb of water and let it drop. It splashed over the unconscious form of the man from before, dousing him until his face was fully submerged.

He jerked awake, gasping for breath, confused as to who he was and what exactly had happened to him.

The first thing the man saw was the strangely familiar face of Uhtred staring down at him.

"Hey. You’re finally awake..."

Uhtred smiled.

"Good. I have a few questions for you. And I’ll need you to answer in detail."